Los Angeles Clippers' forward Elton Brand ruptured his left Achilles tendon today during his regular daily workout at Spectrum Club South Bay. Plans for Brand to undergo surgery to repair the injury are underway, the details of which will be made available by the team as soon as they are finalized.

There's no word as to how Brand got injured other than it occurred at the Spectrum Club. Needless to say, an Achilles injury is the stuff of an "out indefinitely" line. And if that's the case, I don't have to tell anyone here that the Clippers will be among the favorites in the Derrick Rose/Eric Gordon/O.J. Mayo/Michael Beasley sweepstakes. Meanwhile, the Clippers would have to go with Tim Thomas at the PF, a terrifying prospect. More to come.

The usual treatment for a complete rupture of an Achilles tendon is surgery. The procedure generally involves making an incision in the back of your lower leg and stitching the torn tendon together. Depending on the condition of the torn tissue, the repair may be reinforced with other tendons. Afterward, you'll need to spend about six to 12 weeks with your leg in a walking boot, cast, brace or splint. To promote healing and to avoid stretching the surgical repair, your foot may initially be pointed slightly downward in the boot or brace, and then moved gradually to a neutral position...

After treatment, whether surgical or nonsurgical, you'll go through a rehabilitation program involving physical therapy exercises to strengthen your leg muscles and Achilles tendon. Most people return to their former level of activity within four to six months. Recovery depends not only on the quality of the rehab program but also on your commitment to recuperating your prior skills.

Doing the math, an optimistic return would be February, though Brand probably wouldn't be in game shape until some time after that.

UPDATE: Kelly Dwyer reminds me that Dominique Wilkins, in January of the 1991-1992 season, ruptured his Achilles. He missed the rest of the season. He returned for the start of the 1992-1993 season and averaged 27.7 PPG in November.

UPDATE: More from the Achilles file: Voshon Lenard tore his Achilles on the opening night of the 2004-2005 season. He returned for the final two games of the season, playing 17 and 13 minutes respectively. Isiah Thomas tore his Achilles in April 1994 and decided to hang it up after that.

UPDATE: The Clippers have added an Elgin Baylor statement to their release: "“It's unfortunate that this had to happen. But knowing Elton and how dedicated he is to his profession and how hard he works, I believe he'll be back 100% as good as ever.”"

Baylor's hopeful sentiment is appreciated, but the truth is that far more athletes go the way of Voshon Lenard than Dominique Wilkins. Baylor simply has no idea if 100% is feasible. Brand's condition and potential recovery are as uncertain as Shaun Livingston's.

UPDATE [Friday, 10:30 p.m.]: Though surgery on Elton's ruptured Achilles tendon was initially scheduled for Monday here in Los Angeles, his representatives reportedly want to consult Dr. Craig Morgan of Wilmington, Delaware before moving forward. Morgan is an orthopedic surgeon who performed surgery in 2002 on Brand's right knee, which had suffered a cartilage tear.

Posted Wednesday, October 29 at 3:20PM

Good news!

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Lets trade TT and CM for expiring contracts. Hell if we can get rid of CK, lets throw him out too... With EB opting out next year and this season down the drain lets at least get ready to acquire some talent in 08-09...

It would be unacceptable for us to not resign EB... I would put EB on the court with a hook hand a eyepatch and a peg leg... He is the clippers. I want a Clippers jersey to hang in the rafters and it should be #42!!! EB will come back from this... we all know it, the question is what pieces will be here waiting when he does. A 4-6 year deal don't care how much money, 10-12 year Clipper after that. Maybe no rings but he can say that he was the first real face of a franchise that in all of it's years never had one.

We are Clipper's fans, EB probably is going to miss the whole season, our focus should be in supporting the squad that is going to be out there every night. Stop acting like all those weak ass lakers fan!!!! That the only reason they root for the lakers is bcause of Kobe!!!No one person is bigger than the team!!!!

but between livingston, EB and the inevitable departures of both maggette and samiam....we're exactely where we were like 5 years ago.

This is not an injury that an undersized PF that relies on his athleticism and jumpshooting (not to mention ability to bang/take contact, and block shots) can easily recover from. Next year was supposed to be a return to 06 form... now I just hope he's alright.

How much are we over the cap? Webber said he is thiking Pistons, Dallas or Lakers, I am sure if we signed him for 1 year, with Sam leaving next year we might even have him for two years. We just need someone to give us half of what EB does. If we can keep over 500 by March or April hopefully Shaun and EB will be back to help us. We need to try to get Webber.

time for the young guys to show us something. kaman, korolev, davis, jordan, thornton, diaz. we know what everyone else is going to bring to the table. if any of those guys can surprise us, we might not be as screwed as we think. i've been preaching davis, but we need them all to step up. - loflin

on the bright side guys, maybe if the clippers lose like 60 games we can get an awesome draft pick and maybe sterling will blame it on dunleavy and fire him.

in my dream of dreams, shaun and elton come back for the 08/09 season, with our superstar draft pick... which seeing as cuttino will be a bit old could be some badass sg. then with the now fired dunleavy and sam cassell has the new head coach , the clippers win the nba finals in 2009.

question? what is up with brand's contract, can he opt out after next season? might we actually lose maggette, cassell and brand all in one summer.
as for thos who think sam can run a team, he gave us one great year and that is it. he isn't going to lead this team, knight will be the starter. with brand hurt, don't look for livingston to return this season. he needs time to recover and since this season is a wash, he shouldn't return at all. bring in sofo

The season has not even started and we have fans already giving up! I believe Kaman & Maggette are going to carry the team while Brand is out! We know that Corey is capable of giving us 20Pts and I hoping that he will give us 8 to 10 rebounds every game. Tim has to play some defense and hit some big shots. What I'm trying to say let's give the team a chance, before we call this season a wash!!!

I think we brought this on ourselves by even daring to dream we could be better than the Lakers. I'm dead serious, I'm beginning to cope with the face that we will forever be the "other" team in LA and that maybe it was meant to be that way :(

The last four years have been a good indication the organization is trying to put as much talent as possible in the court. These last four years we have been equally if not better to the other LA team. We just had some unfortunate injuries, but that is part of the game. That's the reason that its crucial to have a well rounded team, for situation like this one. But we are not the other LA team, we are one of the LA teams.